The Wonderful World of Elephants!! How much do you know about elephants? Would you like to learn more about these wonderful, intelligent beasts? You might be surprised at the things elephants do. Family Structure Elephants live and travel in groups. Elephant families are headed by an older,
female elephant. She is called the "matriarch" and other female elephants and their young travel with her in family bands of six to 20 members. Male elephant babies (called calves) stay with their mothers
until they are grown. Then they move on to a male herd. These bands of males sometimes travel with a herd of females and their young. When food becomes scarce, the elephant bands will sometimes split apart so they
can find more food. Sometimes they split because there are problems within the family. When the matriarch dies, another elephant in the band will take her place. Elephants and Their Trunks Can you name at least three
things an elephant does with its trunk? Trunks are wondrous things and elephants use them in many ways. They are just like the human upper lip and nose combined. Elephants use them to smell. But they also do other
things with their trunks. They can use their trunk like a snorkel when they are underwater. They can drink with their trunks by sucking water up into it and spraying it into their mouths. They can also use it to pick up
objects, scratch themselves and to explore the world around them. Man Has Hunted Elephants for Their Ivory Although both the Asian and African elephants have tusks, the male African elephant's tusks are the most greatly prized because they grow so large. Tusks are really
nothing but very large teeth. The teeth are made out of what is called ivory. Ivory has been much prized in years past as a medium for jewelry, art and even piano keys. In order to harvest ivory, the elephant must be
killed. As a result of man's desire for ivory objects, many thousands of elephants have been slaughtered. It is illegal in most countries to harvest ivory or import it. Ivory can only be obtained at a terrible cost:
the destruction of a living elephant. Ivory traders and poachers (people who kill elephants to obtain ivory illegally) have greatly reduced the elephant population. Elephant Smarts and Emotions
Did you know that an elephant's brain is the largest of any land mammal? Elephants are very intelligent creatures. They not only have shown a
remarkable ability to learn skills when taught by men, but they exhibit a wide range of emotions. Elephants are also very loyal to their herds and have been known to show signs of being very sad when they experience
the death of a calf (baby) or another member of the herd. They also show signs of joy and great happiness. |
